Life
by IfNothingGoesRightGoLeft
Summary: Life is great when things are going your way. But when things get hard life can really seem to be a b*tch. Jade and Tori learn this when their seemingly perfect life is turned upside-down when Matthew's biological mother wants custody of him for the first time in ten years. R/R Sequel to Community Service! JORI!
1. Prologue

**Hey I'm back! So here I grant you the sequel to Community Service! I want to remind you all that this takes place six years after Community Service so Matthew is ten and Jade and Tori are twenty-four.**

**Also I would love it if you guys could take the time to go check out my other story. It's called Assumptions and it's a Charmed/Victorious crossover. You don't have to have seen Charmed to read it. And, if you are familiar with the Charmed series I created a forum that is basically how the Halliwell's would deal with the zombie apocalypse.**

**For the record I hope you all know that my chapters will be longer than this but it is the prologue and I felt it was a good place to end it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious.**

**Prologue**

Tori yawned as she unpacked the last of the things from her last U.S. tour. She briefly wondered why because she knew that in a month she would be flying over seas to begin the European tour. Glancing over at the still empty bed she was reminded why. She wanted to wait for Jade to get home before going to bed and unpacking seemed like a good enough excuse. Letting another yawn escape her mouth Tori moved to change into her pajamas before she finally crawled into bed and pulled out a copy of the new movie Jade was thinking about being in.

The words didn't quite register to her brain as she idly flipped through the pages, hoping that Jade would be home soon. As if someone was listening to her thoughts Tori heard the front door slam shut and the familiar shuffling as Jade moved through the house. Putting the script back in the bedside table she couldn't help a large grin that broke out on her face when Jade opened the bedroom door almost silently, probably not wanting to wake the half Latina.

"Hey," Tori said and she could barely see as Jade jumped in surprise. Jade angrily flipped the lights on and with a hand pressed dramatically to her chest she whipped around to face Tori.

"Jesus Tori you scared the hell out of me!" She whisper yelled and Tori laughed quietly.

"I think it's disrespectful or something to use 'Jesus' and 'hell' in the same sentence," She quipped and Jade sent her a small glare before stripping out of her cloths and into some pajamas. After changing Jade crawled into bed next to Tori, placing a sweet kiss on the other girl's lips, before turning out the lights so they could go to sleep.

"Why did you wait up for me? It's like two in the morning," Jade whispered as Tori snuggled deeper into her.

"Wanted to," Tori mumbled.

"I love you."

"I love you too," Jade replied before they fell asleep.

oOo

"Mom do you think I could go to work with you tomorrow?" Matthew asked from the kitchen table. His curly raven colored hair was cut in 'skate' style and he sported a Vans t-shirt and jeans. Jade glanced at him before turning back to the scrambled eggs, desperately trying not to burn them.

"I think that would be ok, why?"

"Well you're working with Chloe Mortez and she's totally hot," He answered with a grin and Jade rolled her eyes.

"I think she's a little old for you."

"Only by, like, 5 years."

"Who's a little old for him?" Tori asked while walking into the kitchen, still wiping the sleep out of her eyes. She walked over to where Jade was 'cooking' and quickly took over.

"Chloe Mortez," Jade answered and gladly abandoned her attempt at making breakfast.

"Ah, yeah bud I think you're out of luck there." Matthew was completely unfazed, having heard this speech about countless other actresses and/or singers.

"So what are we going to do today?" Matthew asked as he took a plate of eggs from Tori, "Are Uncle Beck and Aunt Cat still coming over?" Beck and Cat had gotten together shortly after starting college and had become a fairly permeate fixture in the West-Vega household. Beck had become a famous actor like he always dreamed and Cat had started her own label along with Andre, which surprised almost everyone.

"Yeah I'm pretty sure Cat said that they were. Maybe we could go see a movie later," Tori answered. Matthew nodded his head in between bites of egg. As Jade took her plate of food from Tori the sound of the door slamming shut could be heard throughout the whole house. Seconds later Beck and Cat walked into the kitchen, hand in hand.

"Hey!" Cat greeted and took a seat at the table.

"Hey food," Was Beck's greeting as he helped himself to a plate.

"Hi Aunt Cat." "Hey." "Hey guys." Matthew, Jade, and Tori said.

"What, no hi for your favorite uncle?" Beck asked in mock hurt.

"But Uncle Andre isn't here," Matthew joked.

"I liked you better when you were little," He stated with a glare and everyone laughed.

"So when we're done eating do you guys want to go see a movie?" Jade asked and started collecting the empty dishes. There were a chorus of yes's and the plans for the day were set.

oOo

Two and a half hours later Matthew, Jade, and Tori walked through the door of their house. Matthew disappeared into his room before either girl could say anything about it.

"Want to go swimming?" Tori asked with a small grin.

"Are we actually going to _swim_ this time?" Jade asked with a smirk but before Tori could answer Jade's phone started ringing.

"Hello?" Jade listened for a minute and her expression went hard.

"Is than even legal?" Another pause. "That's total bullshit!" Pause. "Fine. I understand, I'll talk to you tomorrow." And with that Jade hung up.

"What's going on?" Tori asked.

"Apparently Matthew's biological mom wants custody."

**So what did you think? I literally just wrote this in like less than an hour so I apologize for any grammar and/or spelling mistakes.**

**Review!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Thank you so much to everyone that reviewed! And an even bigger thanks to those of you and went and read my other story. **

**Unfortunutly I will probably not be able to pop chapters out everyday like I did with the first story because I am writing two different fanfics right now but I will post one every single week. I do have a like outside of fanfiction lol. **

**Disclaimer: Prologue.**

**Chapter One**

"Jade?" Pete, the director, waved his hand in front of the unresponsive actress's face. Jade blinked a few times before her eyes focused on the man in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening," She apologized yet again.

"Is there something going on that I should know about?" He asked and Jade smiled tightly before sighing and running a hand threw her thick black hair.

"Just family stuff, nothing to worry about," Jade brushed it off.

"Are you and Tori having a fight?" Jade shook her head.

"No, Tori's great. Just don't worry about it."

"Jade I've worked with you on a few movies now so I know that it's not nothing; how about you take the rest of the day off."

"What about my scenes?"

"We've pretty much finished all of them for the day. Now get off set before I fire you," He joked and Jade gave him a quick hug.

"Thanks Pete," Jade yelled over her shoulder as she practically ran off set. As soon as Jade started driving she called Matthew from the car.

"Hey Mom," He greeted and Jade smiled.

"Hey buddy how was your day?"

"Kinda boring, I beat Tori at Call of Duty again. She's not as good as you," He said and Jade laughed.

"I'm sorry I had to cancel on you but it turned out to be not such a good day."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why wasn't it a good day for me to come with you? Yesterday you said it was fine," Matthew clarified.

"Some stuff came up but I'll take you soon," Jade promised.

"Ok," He agreed, "When will you be home?"

"Soon, I'm on my way now," Jade said.

"Ok bye, I love you."

"Love you too," Jade repeated and heard the phone click off. Jade drove for a few more miles before she finally pulled into the driveway and punched in the code, causing the large metal gate to swing open. Three minutes later she was walking into the oddly silent house.

"Matty? Tori?" She yelled and set her bag and keys on the granite countertop.

"Hey," Tori said as she hugged Jade from behind.

"Hey," Jade greeted with a smile, "Where's Matty?" Tori's eyebrows creased.

"He went out front to get the mail a few minutes ago but I didn't hear him come in yet." Jade pulled away from a slightly confused Tori. She had a bad feeling and with recent news she wanted to know where Matthew was at all times.

"Jade," Tori called after her, "I'm sure he's fine." Jade nodded but it didn't stop her from continuing her fast stride and throwing the front door open.

"Matthew!" Jade yelled and a few seconds later she saw him running around the bend in the driveway, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. He pushed roughly past Tori and Jade while entering the house before he disappeared up the stairs, the slam of his bedroom door echoed through the house.

"What was that about?" Tori asked.

"I don't know but I'm going to go talk to him." Jade ran up the stairs, leaving Tori alone and feeling slightly incompetent. Jade knocked lightly on the door before opening it.

"Go away," Matthew mumbled from under the covers. Ignoring him Jade closed the door and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"C'mon Matty, tell me what's wrong."

"I said go away," He yelled into the pillow but Jade clearly heard him.

"Matthew West," Jade snapped and he shot up from his bed to glare at her.

"_What?_" There was so much anger directed at Jade that she had to blink a few time to make sure that this was still her son she was dealing with.

"Don't talk to me like that."

"Why not? You're not my mom," He challenged and Jade's heart literally shattered into a bazillion little tiny pieces.

"Where did that come from?" Her voice sounded angrier than hurt and she realized that she was in fact angry. "How dare you say I'm not your mom? I've been raising you since you were two years old! I've been more of a mom to you than your real one." Matthew looked down, not wanting to meet Jade's eyes.

"But my real mom wanted me and you didn't let her," Matthew said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Jade asked softly.

"She said that when I was younger she went to you because she wanted to raise me but you wouldn't let her."

"What the hell is going on? When did you talk to her?"

"When I was getting the mail she came up to me and told me that she was my real mom and she wanted me back," Matthew explained quietly and tried to hide his face from her but Jade tilted his chin up and gently wiped the tears from his face.

"I don't want you to talk to her unless I'm there from now on promise?" Jade asked and held out her pinky. Matthew wrapped his pinky around hers and shook their hands up and down.

"Promise but was she telling the truth? Did she actually try and come get me?"

"When you had just turned eight she found me and told me that she wanted custody of you and I told her that she could go fuck herself because no way in hell was I letting that happen. Matty you were already mine and I didn't want her to take her away from me," Jade explained and smiled when Matthew gave a small smile at what she said. God, she had totally ruined this kid.

"I don't want her to take me away either. I'm sorry I said you weren't my mom," Matthew said and Jade pulled him into a hug.

"I forgive you and I love you, don't you forget that," Jade whispered into his ear.

"Love you too mommm," He dragged out 'mom' for emphasis; Vega had gotten to him over the years. Jade smiled at him as she got off the bed and left the room.

"What happened?" Tori asked when Jade walked into their bedroom, throwing herself onto the bed.

"I'll tell you later. I'm so stressed right now all I want to do is sleep," Jade mumbled.

"Unfortunately sleep might have to wait until later," Tori said.

"Whyyy?" Jade whined.

"Because, someone told the press about the upcoming custody battle between Jade West and Katherine Riley, the estranged biological mother of Jade's son." Jade quickly sat up to look at Tori who just pointed at the TV where, sure enough, that's what was currently being discussed on Entertainment Weekly.

"Fuck."

**So what did y'all think? Leave me a review and tell me!**


	3. Chapter 2

**So I took a little longer than promised with the chapter but I had a little difficulty writing this one. Hope you guys like the chapter! I'm fairly certain I planned on writing more in the AN but I forgot. Enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: See prologue. **

**Chapter Two**

Jade shoved through the mass of photographers, ignoring the dozens of questions being asked and making sure to keep hold of Matthews's hand. Tori followed close behind and right about now they were both regretting the decision to not get a body guard. Since the publication of the custody battle things have been a little more crazy than usual. Finally after what seemed like hours they finally pushed through the group and into a building.

"Ms. West, Ms. Vega I'm so glad you had room in your day to meet me," Robert, Jade's new lawyer, greeted.

"I'm sure you are," Jade mumbled with a glare. Tori laughed before elbowing Jade in the side.

"What Jade meant was that it was no problem," Tori somewhat explained. Robert laughed nervously and darted his eyes between Jade and Tori, not entirely sure who he should listen to.

"Yes well um we should go into my office and discuss the," He glanced at Matthew, "problem." Simultaneously Jade and Matthew sent him a glare Tori watched as they repressed a matching smirk as Robert squeaked and ran to his office down the hall.

"Behave," Tori warned before grabbing each one of their hands and dragging them to the office. After they settled themselves into the chairs in front of Roberts desk Tori sent each West a 'Don't Fuck With Me' look that left them both staring at their laps. Yup, Jade had trained her well.

"So uh M-Mr. West," He began nervously, "Can you tell me what happened during the encounters with your um biological mother?"

"It's not a bad word you know," Jade snapped and Robert blushed furiously. Jade was immediately starting to regret her decision about the lawyer. She wanted someone with experience, not someone straight out of law school.

"S-Sorry Ms. West," He stuttered and looked at a near laughing Matthew. Tori rolled her eyes before glaring at Jade.

"Robert I think we're going to have to reschedule," Tori explained before once again grabbing Matthew and Jade and dragging them out of the building. Surprisingly getting through the crowd of paparazzi was much easier with an annoyed and angry Victoria Vega was leading the way.

"Babe," Jade said.

"Don't 'babe' me. You were acting like a bitch and you know it," Tori scolded and Matthew laughed from the back seat of the car, "Can it, Mister. You'll get your turn when I'm done with your mom." Matthew sank deeper into his seat and looked down at his hands sitting in his lap.

"The guy was Matthew's age! C'mon Tori he was asking for it," Jade defended.

"I don't want your excuse. Just admit that you were being a bitch." Jade didn't say anything until she pulled up to a red light. Crossing her arms she mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that Mom?" Matthew teased, "I couldn't hear you." Jade glared at the mirror where she could clearly see Matthew grinning.

"I was being a bitch," Jade mumbled a little more coherently, "I'm sorry." Tori smile triumphantly and nodded her head.

"Good, see that wasn't so hard."

"Bite me." Jade glared and Tori smirked.

"Maybe later," She said low enough that Matthew couldn't hear. Jade returned the smirk and drove home.

oOo

_Matthew happily walked down the school hallway, practically skipping. He wasn't sure why his mom was picking him up early from school because last time he checked she was supposed to be meeting with a new lawyer with Tori but he really didn't care._

"_Matthew, your mother is waiting out in her car. She said that she was in a hurry," Darleen, the schools secretary, explained. Turning on his heel he started running out of the school so he could find out what they were going to do. He didn't really care what they did because anything they did would be fun; just spending time with his mom was fun. _

"_So Mom what are we going to do today?" He asked excitedly but his smile immediately disappeared when he saw that the woman in the car wasn't Jade. True, they shared the similar raven locks, although Jades had more volume, but this woman's skin was a few shades darker than his own and Jades, and her eyes were a muddy brown. _

"_Well I was thinking that we would go visit your Aunt Jade," She said happily, "I know you want to see her before she leaves for an audition." Matthews frown deepened._

"_You're not my mom! Where is she? Where's Tori?" He shouted. The women frowned and went to check Matthew's forehead._

"_Are you feeling okay?" _

"_Don't touch me!" He screamed and ran out of the car, yelling for him mom._

"Mom! Mom!" Matthew thrashed around in his bed. Jade ran into the room, Tori followed closely behind.

"Matty I'm right here," Jade whispered, shaking him awake. Slowly he blinked his eyes before wrapping his arms around Jades neck and crying.

"Matty what happened?" Tori asked gently and rubbed his back.

"I-I had a nightmare," He hiccupped and rubbed his eyes and nose.

"What happened?" Jade asked.

"Y-You weren't my mom and it was t-that lady. T-The one that s-said that she was my real m-mom," He stuttered.

"It wasn't real okay? I'm still here and so is Tori. We aren't going anywhere whether you like it or not and I won't let that woman take you away ok?" Jade soothed.

"Okay." He nodded.

"I love you," She said and kissed his forehead.

"I love you too buddy," Tori repeated, "How about Jade and I stay here until you fall back asleep?" He nodded again and curled up into a ball in the middle of the bed, Tori and Jade laying on each side. At least a half an hour went by before the couple got out of the bed and went down to the living room.

"Babe? Are you okay?" Tori asked after five minutes of silence.

"He's having nightmares Tori," Jade stated, holding back tears.

"Jade, it's not your fault."

"It doesn't matter! I should be able to protect him," Jade voice cracked and tears spilled over. Tori didn't say anything but she wrapped her arms around Jade as tears fell freely down her face. "What are we going to do?"

"We'll figure it out," Tori promised.

**What'd you all think? I've written this chapter over like ten times and I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out. Again I'm sorry about taking a little longer to post. **

**Reviews are more than welcome!**


End file.
